Intensive Farming | Sustainable Farming

www.2farm.co.nz: is  an animal & farmer friendly site.
The site was set up to help  those thinking about purchasing  rural land and livestock.
 The site helps explain about farming. The weather, soil fertility,  pasture, goat, deer, sheep & cattle, , disease prevention, birthing and newborns. 

About Me (Elise.)
I am a dairy farmers daughter. As a kid I helped/worked on the farm.
At school; biology, and botany were my favourite subjects.
When I left home, I trained, and became a registered nurse.
Years later, (married & with kids!!) We purchased a small rundown dairy farm, and an unrecorded herd. (That was all we could afford)
Later we sold the small farm, to purchased a larger one..  A farm that proved to be more "run down", and far more challenging than our first farm.
We upped the milk solid production dramatically. 
Doing it the hard way (long hours & no short cuts) taught us heaps!! 
As a dairy farmer in NZ  we had the advantage of attending DISCUSSION GROUPS, and experts.
Our local vets were very helpful .. they willingly answered ALL of my questions.
Veterinarians get mentioned many times in this website.. They usually live, and certainly work in the district. They're the experts re the local weather,
the soil types, (mineral deficiencies, abundancies) and the diseases in the region.
     I am most familiar with cattle.. mainly dairy cows..  Goat, sheep & deer farmer friends have helped with additional information. 
 As a farmer I am strictly a "fence at the top of the cliff" person rather than "an ambulance at the bottom"..
   ie: preventing diseases, & accidents (with humans and animals)
I enjoyed farming.. I enjoyed my animals..
 

 Topics covered by this site include:

Essentials: Things you'll need, and Things to consider if you have thoughts of becoming a small farmer.  Animal Behaviour: Your animals behaviour, and managing them:  Deer, cattle, goats, sheep. Reproductive behaviour.. of sheep, goat, deer and cattle. The page goes into some detail and there are photos with regards to "on  heat behaviour" in cows.. There are details re artificial insemination, and the bovine reproductive cycle. Animal Health: Preventable diseases:  vaccinations, and parasites. metabolic diseases. Common diseases: Mastitis and bloat are covered "in depth"   Hooves, bloat, eyes, mastitis, about antibiotics, wound care. (these pages are not a replacement for advice & treatment from your vets.. but rather an explanation of diseases.)

Pasture and soil. 
Pasture: 
Growth, varieties, fertility, +pasture management, droughts, hay/baleage weeds.
Fertiliser:
Your soil.  Where does the fertility go? What the soil needs, basic fertilisers.
Birth, and newborns:
Newborns: colostrum, navels, calf rearing, scours (why?), treatment (and how it works).
Calf rearing: diet, feeding routine, rumen development, weaning.
Metabolic problems: Preventing metabolic problems, and treatment for metabolic problems.
Birthing: normal births, dystocia, what to do. When to call the vet.

Much  information in these pages came from experience.
Additional information has been obtained from conference notes, farming, & veterinary text books, farming friends, pamphlets,
lecture/seminar notes, plus the www.
Photos of cows, sheep, goats, farming, have, with a few exceptions,  all been taken from New Zealand.
and:
A super big thanks to friends who have helped: (Denise, John, Ross, Dave, Christine, Judith, Kelvin, Andrew, Bev, & Ruth)
 

.  

                  Happy farming!
                                 Elise

Introduction
Small Farm Essentials  |	All About Pastures
Fertiliser  |	Seasonal Management
Behaviour: Cattle, Deer, Goats  |	Birth: Dystocia and Helping
Newborns & Calf Rearing  |	Metabolic Problems
Common Diseases: Treatment & Prevention
Preventable Diseases (in cattle, sheep, goats, and deer)

EMAIL: small_farmer@hotmail.com
www.2farm.co.nz

 

farm animals | small farm | successful farming | the farming game | farming pictures | agriculture farming | animal farm